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Douglas man denies assault charges

Alleged historical offences at boarding school

A 76 year-old Douglas man has denied assaulting pupils at a South Lakeland school in Cumbria.

Derrick William Cooper, of Hillberry Green, today (Monday, March 20) entered not guilty pleas to six charges of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and two offences of child cruelty.

He was one of six men who appeared at Carlisle Crown Court in connection with alleged historical offences at the former boarding school.

 

The court heard 38 separate charges, which all the defendants deny, covered a period from 1976 to 1993.

 

A trial, expected to last between eight and 10 weeks, is due to get under way at the crown court in early 2018.

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